The invention relates generally to an apparatus and a method for forming flanges on components. More particularly, this invention relates to an apparatus and a method for forming flanges on composite components.
Composite materials are widely used in various industries, and particularly in the aerospace industry, because of their high strength-to-weight ratio. The aerospace components made from composite materials may require precise tolerances to enhance several parameters such as structural integrity, performance, and fatigue life. More particularly, fiber-reinforced composite materials may be used for aircraft structural components such as, for example, fan cases. Some structural components include flanges, which may increase the stiffness of the structural components, and/or facilitate the assembly of the structural components into other components. As used herein, the term “flange” may indicate a raised rim, lip, or other projection from a surface of a fitting.
Some conventional processes used for forming metal parts have been implemented to form the flanges. However, these methods were not suitable to form the flanges on composite components. A process for forming composite components generally includes coupling composite plies, and subsequently curing the composite plies. Some known processes for forming flanges on composite components, such as a hand lay-up process, usually result in inconsistent laminate quality and large dimensional variations within the composite plies. Additionally, these forming processes are labor intensive, and the quality of the flanges can be operator-dependent. Moreover, these forming processes may require extensive post-molding machining to obtain desired tolerances, which may increase the cost of manufacturing.
It has been also difficult to form flanges automatically or semi-automatically due to the complexity of the motion and the intricacy of the manipulation during material placement. This is because the automated lay-up machines have limitations on the geometry of the composite components, for example radial flanges on cylindrical structures, and the geometry of the flanges.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have an improved apparatus and methods for forming flanges on the composite components. It would further be desirable to have an improved apparatus and methods for forming flanges to be suitable for use in automated or semi-automated composite lay-up processes.